Tallaght GPs start online consultations

Jobstown family practice to offer online consultations using app-based technology

Dr Darach Ó Ciardha, Jobstown family practice, Tallaght, Dublin with (on screen) Mary O’Brien, co-founder and chief executive, of VideoDoc at the official launch of online video consultations for patients in Tallaght, Dublin

Patients at a Tallaght GP practice will soon be able to consult their doctor online in what is described as a first for telemedicine in Ireland.

Jobstown Family Practice will offer online consultations to some patients from next week using app-based technology.

Dr Darach Ó Ciardha says he plans to pilot the VideoDoc technology with a number of medical card patients who have mental health or mobility issues in the coming days. Ultimately, the aim is to make the service available to all patients, public and private.

A growing number of telemedicine products are coming on the market, but the latest initiative claims to be the first time patients will be able to “see” their GP from their home or office.

“The technology offers patients the opportunity to see their own GPs rather than a GP who they have never met before,” says Dr Ó Ciardha.

“It allows us as GPs to ensure the continuity of care of our patients, as we know them and have access to their records and medical history during the online consultation.”

The service will particularly suit patients who might not be in a position to travel to the surgery due to work or family commitments, illness, immobility or isolation, he says.

VideoDoc, which is in use in four sites in the US, plans to make the technology available to patients throughout Ireland, through GPs, in spring.

The company plans to charge GPs €99 a month for the technology. The fees private patients are charged for the service will be set by individual doctors.